Ephraim Kholmyansky
Encyclopedia
Ephraim Kholmyansky (b. in 1950 in Moscow
) – refusenik
, activist in the Jewish revival movement in Russia
, teacher of Hebrew, Prisoner of Zion.
Kholmyansky became interested in Jewish revival and, above all, in learning Hebrew. Gradually, he became a prominent Hebrew teacher in the late 1970s and 1980s in the USSR, heading a clandestine network of Hebrew teachers across different cities in the USSR. At the peak of its activities, the network was active in 20 cities of USSR, with contacts in a further 30 cities. The KGB
began close surveillance of Kholmyansky and arrested him in Tallinn
, capital of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
on 29th August, 1984. While Kholmyansky was in preliminary detention, the KGB conducted a house search of his Moscow apartment, where they claimed to have recovered a shotgun, but his supporters among Soviet Jews and campaigners claimed that the charges were framed. During the subsequent criminal investigation, however, the accusation of illegal possession of a weapon was dropped, leaving only the charge of illegal possession of ammunition.
The defendant proclaimed an unlimited hunger strike, which he also continued after he was sentenced. When Kholmyansky was hospitalized in the prison hospital, his weight was 42.5 kg (he is 177 cm tall). There, he was force-fed, spent a lot of time in the special punishment cell. It is widely believed that it was due to Kholmyansky’s staunch struggle that he received a relatively short term of imprisonment – 1.5 years.
Some time after completing his term of imprisonment, Kholmyansky was granted an exit visa to Israel, where he arrived with his family.
State secretary George P. Shultz
, three US Senators (including Ted Kennedy
), ten US Congressmen, Margaret Thatcher
, Bob Hawke
and other public figures took part in the struggle to free Kholmyansky. His case may be seen as a valuable historical document about the struggle for human rights in the USSR in the period of the Brezhnev stagnation
.
Kholmyansky lives with his wife and 5 children in Machanaim
in Ma'ale Adumim, Israel
.
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) – refusenik
Refusenik (Soviet Union)
Refusenik was an unofficial term for individuals, typically but not exclusively, Soviet Jews, who were denied permission to emigrate abroad by the authorities of the former Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc...
, activist in the Jewish revival movement in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, teacher of Hebrew, Prisoner of Zion.
Biography
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
began close surveillance of Kholmyansky and arrested him in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, capital of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic , often abbreviated as Estonian SSR or ESSR, was a republic of the Soviet Union, administered by and subordinated to the Government of the Soviet Union...
on 29th August, 1984. While Kholmyansky was in preliminary detention, the KGB conducted a house search of his Moscow apartment, where they claimed to have recovered a shotgun, but his supporters among Soviet Jews and campaigners claimed that the charges were framed. During the subsequent criminal investigation, however, the accusation of illegal possession of a weapon was dropped, leaving only the charge of illegal possession of ammunition.
The defendant proclaimed an unlimited hunger strike, which he also continued after he was sentenced. When Kholmyansky was hospitalized in the prison hospital, his weight was 42.5 kg (he is 177 cm tall). There, he was force-fed, spent a lot of time in the special punishment cell. It is widely believed that it was due to Kholmyansky’s staunch struggle that he received a relatively short term of imprisonment – 1.5 years.
Some time after completing his term of imprisonment, Kholmyansky was granted an exit visa to Israel, where he arrived with his family.
State secretary George P. Shultz
George P. Shultz
George Pratt Shultz is an American economist, statesman, and businessman. He served as the United States Secretary of Labor from 1969 to 1970, as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1972 to 1974, and as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989...
, three US Senators (including Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
), ten US Congressmen, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
and other public figures took part in the struggle to free Kholmyansky. His case may be seen as a valuable historical document about the struggle for human rights in the USSR in the period of the Brezhnev stagnation
Brezhnev stagnation
The Era of Stagnation, also known as Brezhnev stagnation or the Stagnation Period, refers to a period of economic stagnation under the rules of Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko in the history of the Soviet Union which started in the mid-1970s.-Terminology:Various authors...
.
Kholmyansky lives with his wife and 5 children in Machanaim
Machanaim
Machanaim is a word from book of Book of Genesis meaning "two camps".It is also a name of organization dealing with spiritual absorption of Jewish people from the former USSR in Israel. The organization produced many books, classes, especially for conversion...
in Ma'ale Adumim, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.